Over the past year St Mary Magdalene with Risen Christ, Wyken have started a popular new Messy Church community. We chat to Vicar of Wyken, the Revd Paul Pavlou, about the new community.
Why did you decide to start Messy Church services?
We originally invested a lot of time and energy into big community events, which were all well attended and enjoyed. However, we recognised that there were both expensive and not great at giving time to form consistent relationships out of conversations with people who came. So, we tried to take the elements that worked, i.e. eating with people, some sort of activity, and then injected worship into it too. In doing so, we were able to provide a space for people to simply ‘be’ with their families, engaging with them, and also be exposed to worship and the gospel.
How long has Messy Church been going for?
We have only run a few so far to experiment and have now formed a rhythm of one per month which provides a consistent base for this new worshipping community to form.
What have you learnt through running Messy Church?
We’ve learnt that people are more open to worship and engaging with it than we might assume. Being deliberately distinctive in making it a church ’service’ rather than simply a fun event to be at has not put people off. It has been a great way to start getting people involved in serving at church who otherwise wouldn’t.
When is your next messy church?
It is on December 14th 4pm and will be a Christmas special. Find out more here.